Straw cutter



Sept. 12, 1950 R. J, TOTTEN 2,522,320

sTRAw CUTTER Filed July 13, 1948 Figa.;

INI/ENTOR,

AA/ow/ mjfu M7751/- BY M.

JWORNEY Patented Sept. 12, 1950 UNITED; STA-frias PATENT OFFICE ls'rmiw CUTTER Randolph Jeweuy'rotten, Yaraviue, N. J. Appncauenliuly 13, 194s', seria1Nu. 38,497

l My invention relates to mechanism for cutting straw into suitable lengths for 'use `as bedding for horses, cattle, or other animals; My invention i-s Adirected particularly vtov constructions:

adapted to be vrused in` vrcombi-nation withfa are high strung and restless andstamp their feet much morey than ordinary 'work horses.l Therefore more brittle straw is broken and chopped into' dust very quicklyso that it becomes use-y less as bedding. On the other hand, rye straw is'generally three to four feet or more in length whereas the best length for straw tobe vused as bedding is about I8 to 24 inches. 'f l i 2 claims. (o1. 14s- 73) In order to provide rye straw for bedding here-` tofore ithas been usual' to `bale the straw while of full' length. The resultingvbalesare"'large,-

' heavy, and dinlcult to' handle and when the straw is to be used, the bale nrst has to'be cutinhalf to produce the desired length of straw. The operation of baling and handling full' length rye straw requires the use of anv expensive andi heavy' type of lbaler and equipment'whereas the operation of cutting the finished bale in some and expensive.

InI accordance with'rny invention, means are provided for cutting straw into length suitable foruse for bedding before isl baled and directly-.as it leaves the thresher. The straw thus prepared may be baled by meansoi af-conven-L- tional hay balen and. the operation ofcutting the bales to providethe desired length of straw may be eliminated altogether. In the preferred fforxn of my invention shown in the drawing and'hereafter described, the cutting rneehanisrnjis applied directly tol a thresher sor that the straw is cut immediately upon discharge from *the thresherl and is then transferred to the hopper oi'V a baler.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel type oil.mechanisml for cutting straw into suitable lengths for use as bedding. n Another object of my invention is to produce precut rye straw' suitable for baling byfmeans of a conventional' hay bale'r; Y

A further object of my invention is to reduce the cost and labor required to produce rye straw for bedding.

Another object of my invention is to produce rye straw bales in which the straw is of suitable length for bedding' purposes'.

These and other objects and features of the presenty invention willi appear from the following description thereof in which reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing: i

Fig. 1 is: a side elevation of a portion' of' a thresher having a typical form of straw cutter embodying my invention applied thereto, parts being shown i-n section, and l Fig. 2 isf a top plan viewof the construction shown in lig.r 1. l

In that form of my invention chosen for purposes of illustration in the drawing, the cutter is used in combination with a thresher indicated..

generally atv 2' and having` a discharge mouth 4 through which. the threshed straw is delivered. Any sui-table form` ot thresher may be used but in the construction shown, the invention `is. ap-

plied toe a Butterworth threshing machine and wse oi the tabley in position to be engaged and y positively/advanced by means of the ngers 8" and t0. These fingers are pivotally connected at their lower ends to .bracket I2 mounted ony thel body I4 of the thresher. The upper free endsof the lingers arey alternately raised and advanced and then retracted by means of the oppositely disposed cranks ItI and I8 carried by shaft 20 and connected to the lingers at 22-1 near the midpoint thereof. Shaft 2liv is rotated by gears 24 .and 2K driven by' belt 28V from the power operated pulley' 3B on the thresher.

The elements of the construction describedvk above are common to many types of threshing machines new on the marketand are ordinarily used to cause thewstraw to be advanced along the delivery `table 6 toy a bundling or tying mechanisnr which gathers1 the straw into a sheaf .and

ties it together.' Inl accordance with. the present invention such. bundling and tying means are, removed orornitted from the thresher and the fingers. d and l0 serve to feed` the strawy tothe cutting mechanism.,

The lingers 8 and l0 arespaced-apart and in order to cut the straw as it is discharged from the thresher, holding members 32 are located over the fingers 8 and l0 in position to retain the straw advanced by the fingers in contact with the upper surface of the table 6. The holding members shown are hingedly connected at 34 to the hood 36 of the discharge opening of the thresher whereas the lower ends of the members 32 are directly in contact with the straw advancing along the table 5 under the action of the iingers B and I0.

A cutter 40 is located between the holding members 32 and is mounted on a shaft 42 which extends transversely of the mechanism below the delivery table. The shaft 42 is driven by belt 44 from the pulley 46 attached to one of the shaftsof the thresher which is driven at a suitable speed during the operation of the thresher. The

blade of the cutter 40 projects upward through a slot in the delivery table 6 and between the hold- 4 vided or other discharge means are employed. In view thereof it should be understood that the form of my invention particularly disclosed herein is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a thresher having a downwardly sloping discharge table over which threshed straw is passed,y means for positively mov-ing;A straw longitudinally of said table and down said slope While arranged so that the straw extends transversely of the table, a rotary cuty ting blade located near the lower end of said ing members 32. The blade of the cutter 40 prefv y l erably is provided with teeth similar to those of a saw, although the teeth preferably are not set laterally but instead are positioned in alignment throughout the circumference of the cutter. The cutter rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 43 so as to engage the straw 50 as it advances along the table 6. In practice the cutter generally rotates at a speed of from 1000 to 2000 R. P. lVl. and has a diameter ofapproximately l'inches. The linear speed of the cutting edge is ntherefore approximately 3000 to 6000 feet per minute.

The straw advancing toward the cutter 40 is thussevered by a downward stroke from the cutting teeth or blade while being positively advanced by iingers 8 and l0 and held in .place on the'table 0 by the holding members 32. The newly threshed straw is thereby severed substantially midway of vits length or at any other desired point so that the resulting cut straw is of suitable length for bedding and approximately 18 to 24 inches long. The cut straw passing the cutter' is pushed on past the lower endsV of the holding members by the ngers 8 and IIJ andis` discharged onto the lower table 52 iromlwhich-it may be loaded directly into the hopper 54 of a baler indicated generally at 56.

In normal practice an operator stands on the lower table 52 and controls the feed of straw into the hopper of the baler although the strawv may be discharged directly into the hopper of the baler in some instances. However, most hay balers have a reciprocating plunger which moves within the hopper and therefore an operator can direct and feed the straw to the baler more easily and satisfactorily than ordinary conveying means. I

The resulting baled straw consists of lengths of straw suitable for use directly in bedding animals. The cut and baled straw is very easy to handle and may be used just as it is received by breaking open the bale and without any further cut-y ting of the straw by the user.I f

While a 'typical rand preferred form of straw cutter embodying my invention has been shown in the drawing and herein described, it vwill be apparent that numerous changes and modifications may be made in the form construction and arrangement of the elements employed. Thus the' type of cutter used and the manner in which it is driven may obviously be varied and the mechanism may be applied to any type of thresher whether the straw advancing ngers are prosof table and lying in a. plane extending longitudil nally of said table in position to sever the straw substantially midway in the length thereof, said cutting blade being mounted on a shaft extending transversely of the table below the same and presenting a cutting edge projecting through a slot in the table and above the surface of the table over which the straw is moved, means for rotating' the leading edge of said cutting blade downward toward said table so as to sever the straw by a downward stroke, and means pivotally connected to the thresher and yieldably movable toward the table for urging the straw being cut toward the surface of said table and to prevent substantial bending of the straw during the cutting operation.

2. In'combination with a thresher having la downwardly sloping discharge table over which.

threshed straw is passed, means for positively moving straw longitudinally of said table and down said slope while arranged so that the straw extends transversely of the table, a toothed rotary cutting'blade located near the lower end of said table and lying in a plane extending longitudinally-ofvsaid table in position to sever the strawv substantially midway in the length thereof, saidl cutting blade being mounted on a shaft extending transversely of the' tablebelow the same-and presentinga cutting edge projecting `through a least 3000 feet per minute, vand gravity actuated straw holding'members located above said table and onv opposite sides Iof said cutter in position to hold-the straw'in place on the table during the;

cutting thereof. V

RANDOLPH JEWELL TOTTEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le l'of' this patent:

y UNITED sTA'rEs PASIENrs Nethenands Apr. 16, 1943 

